Search

Numerical hydrogeological models should ideally be based on the spatial distribution of hydraulic conductivity (K), a property rarely defined on the basis of sufficient data due to the lack of efficient characterization methods. Electromagnetic borehole flowmeter measurements during pumping in uncased wells can effectively provide a continuous vertical distribution of K in consolidated rocks. However, relatively few studies have used the flowmeter in screened wells penetrating unconsolidated aquifers, and tests conducted in gravel-packed wells have shown that flowmeter data may yield misleading results. This paper describes the practical application of flowmeter profiles in direct-push wells to measure K and delineate hydrofacies in heterogeneous unconsolidated aquifers having low-to-moderate K (10(-6) to 10(-4) m/s). The effect of direct-push well installation on K measurements in unconsolidated deposits is first assessed based on the previous work indicating that such installations minimize disturbance to the aquifer fabric. The installation and development of long-screen wells are then used in a case study validating K profiles from flowmeter tests at high-resolution intervals (15 cm) with K profiles derived from multilevel slug tests between packers at identical intervals. For 119 intervals tested in five different wells, the difference in log K values obtained from the two methods is consistently below 10%. Finally, a graphical approach to the interpretation of flowmeter profiles is proposed to delineate intervals corresponding to distinct hydrofacies, thus providing a method whereby both the scale and magnitude of K contrasts in heterogeneous unconsolidated aquifers may be represented.

The Brunswick Group and the underlying Lockatong Formation are composed of lithified Mesozoic sediments that constitute part of the Newark Basin in southeastern Pennsylvania. These fractured rocks form an important regional aquifer that consists of gradational sequences of shale, siltstone, and sandstone, with fluid transport occurring primarily in fractures. An extensive suite of geophysical logs was obtained in seven wells located at the borough of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, in order to better characterize the areal hydrogeologic system and provide guidelines for the refinement of numerical ground water models. Six of the seven wells are approximately 120 m deep and the seventh extends to a depth of 335 m. Temperature, fluid conductivity, and flowmeter logs are used to locate zones of fluid exchange and to quantify transmissivities. Electrical resistivity and natural gamma logs together yield detailed stratigraphic information, and digital acoustic televiewer data provide magnetically oriented images of the borehole wall from which almost 900 fractures are identified. Analyses of the geophysical data indicate that the aquifer penetrated by the deep well can be separated into two distinct structural domains, which may, in turn, reflect different mechanical responses to basin extension by different sedimentary units: 1. In the shallow zone (above 125 m), the dominant fracture population consists of gently dipping bedding plane partings that strike N46°E and dip to the northwest at about 11 degrees. Fluid flow is concentrated in the upper 80 m along these subhorizontal fractures, with transmissivities rapidly diminishing in magnitude with depth. 2. The zone below 125 m marks the appearance of numerous high-angle fractures that are orthogonal to the bedding planes, striking parallel but dipping steeply southeast at 77 degrees. This secondary set of fractures is associated with a fairly thick (approximately 60 m) high-resistivity, low-transmissivity sandstone unit that is abruptly terminated by a thin shale bed at a depth of 190 m. This lower contact effectively delineates the aquifer's vertical extent at this location because no detectable evidence of ground water movement is found below it. Thus, fluid flow is controlled by fractures, but fracture type and orientation are related to lithology. Finally, a transient thermal-conduction model is successfully applied to simulate observed temperature logs, thereby confirming the effects of ground-surface warming that occurred in the area as a result of urbanization at the turn of the century. The systematic warming of the upper 120 m has increased the transmissivity of this aquifer by almost 10%, simply due to changes in fluid viscosity and density.

The Passaic Formation consists of gradational sequences of mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone, and is a principal aquifer in central New Jersey. Ground-water flow is primarily controlled by fractures interspersed throughout these sedimentary rocks and characterizing these fractures in terms of type, orientation, spatial distribution, frequency, and transmissivity is fundamental towards understanding local fluid-transport processes. To obtain this information, a comprehensive suite of geophysical logs was collected in 10 wells roughly 46 m in depth and located within a .05 km2 area in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. A seemingly complex, heterogeneous network of fractures identified with an acoustic televiewer was statistically reduced to two principal subsets corresponding to two distinct fracture types: (1) bedding-plane partings and (2) high-angle fractures. Bedding-plane partings are the most numerous and have an average strike of N84°W and dip of 20° N. The high-angle fractures are oriented subparallel to these features, with an average strike of N79° E and dip of 71° S, making the two fracture types roughly orthogonal. Their intersections form linear features that also retain this approximately east-west strike. Inspection of fluid temperature and conductance logs in conjunction with flow meter measurements obtained during pumping allows the transmissive fractures to be distinguished from the general fracture population. These results show that, within the resolution capabilities of the logging tools, approximately 51 (or 18 percent) of the 280 total fractures are water producing. The bedding-plane partings exhibit transmissivities that average roughly 5 m2/day and that generally diminish in magnitude and frequency with depth. The high-angle fractures have average transmissivities that are about half those of the bedding-plane partings and show no apparent dependence upon depth. The geophysical logging results allow us to infer a distinct hydrogeologic structure within this aquifer that is defined by fracture type and orientation. Fluid flow near the surface is controlled primarily by the highly transmissive, subhorizontal bedding-plane partings. As depth increases, the high-angle fractures apparently become more dominant hydrologically.

A field experiment consisting of geophysical logging and tracer testing was conducted in a single well that penetrated a sand-and-gravel aquifer at the U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology research site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Geophysical logs and flowmeter/pumping measurements were obtained to estimate vertical profiles of porosity phi, hydraulic conductivity K, temperature, and bulk electrical conductivity under background, freshwater conditions. Saline-tracer fluid was then injected into the well for 2 h and its radial migration into the surrounding deposits was monitored by recording an electromagnetic-induction log every 10 min. The field data are analyzed and interpreted primarily through the use of Archie's (1942) law to investigate the role of topological factors such as pore geometry and connectivity, and grain size and packing configuration in regulating fluid flow through these coarse-grained materials. The logs reveal no significant correlation between K and phi, and imply that groundwater models that link these two properties may not be useful at this site. Rather, it is the distribution and connectivity of the fluid phase as defined by formation factor F, cementation index m, and tortuosity alpha that primarily control the hydraulic conductivity. Results show that F correlates well with K, thereby indicating that induction logs provide qualitative information on the distribution of hydraulic conductivity. A comparison of alpha, which incorporates porosity data, with K produces only a slightly better correlation and further emphasizes the weak influence of the bulk value of varphi on K.

A commercially available electromagnetic flowmeter is attached to a seepage cylinder to create an electromagnetic seepage meter (ESM) for automating measurement of fluxes across the sediment/water interface between ground water and surface water. The ESM is evaluated through its application at two lakes in New England, one where water seeps into the lake and one where water seeps out of the lake. The electromagnetic flowmeter replaces the seepage-meter bag and provides a continuous series of measurements from which temporal seepage processes can be investigated. It provides flow measurements over a range of three orders of magnitude, and contains no protruding components or moving parts. The ESM was used to evaluate duration of seepage disturbance following meter installation and indicated natural seepage rates resumed approximately one hour following meter insertion in a sandy lakebed. Lakebed seepage also varied considerably in response to lakebed disturbances, near-shore waves, and rainfalls, indicating hydrologic processes are occurring in shallow lakebed settings at time scales that have largely gone unobserved.

A field technique for assessing the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity in an aquifer was applied to a fractured carbonate formation in southeastern Nevada. The technique combines the simultaneous use of fluid injection and geophysical logging to measure in situ vertical distributions of fluid velocity and hydraulic head down the borehole; these data subsequently are analyzed to arrive at quantitative estimates of hydraulic conductivity across discrete intervals in the aquifer. The diagnostic capabilities of the analysis were found to be constrained by the accuracy and resolution of the logging tools as well as by the hydraulic characteristics of the formation. Despite these limitations, this injection/logging technique appears to be practical and effective under the conditions encountered in this application. The results of this analysis identified the contact margin between the Anchor and Dawn Members of the Monte Cristo Limestone as being the dominant transmissive unit. This section is extensively fractured, and quantitative estimates of its hydraulic conductivity are at least two orders of magnitude larger than that of the surrounding competent rock matrix. This transmissive zone also correlates strongly with an interval where the drilling rate was reported to be quite rapid. Aquifer transmissivity was computed from the profile of hydraulic conductivity and found to be 7.6 × 105 ft2/day, a value that is in close agreement with that determined from a conventional constant-discharge test. Discrepancies between the two estimates may be scale-dependent, a function of the different formation volumes investigated by each method. The friction factor, a parameter derived from the differential pressure and velocity logs, appears to be a good indicator of borehole rugosity across intervals where fluid velocity remains virtually unchanged, and vertical flow is turbulent.